US Shannon Vreeland, Dana Vollmer, and Missy Franklin celebrate after the women's 4x200m freestyle relay final swimming event at the London 2012 Olympic Games on August 1, 2012 in London. AFP PHOTO / MARTIN BUREAUMARTIN BUREAU/AFP/GettyImages less

US Shannon Vreeland, Dana Vollmer, and Missy Franklin celebrate after the women's 4x200m freestyle relay final swimming event at the London 2012 Olympic Games on August 1, 2012 in London. AFP PHOTO / MARTIN ... more

Photo: Martin Bureau, AFP/Getty Images

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LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 01: Nathan Adrian of the United States celebrates after he won the Final of the Men's 100m Freestyle on Day 5 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Aquatics Centre on August 1, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Adam Pretty/Getty Images) less

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 01: Nathan Adrian of the United States celebrates after he won the Final of the Men's 100m Freestyle on Day 5 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Aquatics Centre on August 1, 2012 ... more

Adrian, a 23-year-old Cal alum largely overshadowed by Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte, made a name for himself by winning the 100-meter freestyle Wednesday. He lunged to the wall to edge James "the Missile" Magnussen by one-hundredth of a second - the slightest margin possible - and again deny Australia its first individual swimming gold of the London Games.

Adrian pounded the water, then put his hands over his eyes while dangling over the lane rope, as if he couldn't believe the "1" beside his name. Magnussen hung at the end of the pool, staring straight ahead at the wall in disbelief, the wall he got to just a fraction of a second too late.

"It's not who swims the fastest time this year," said Adrian, a not-so-subtle dig at Magnussen posting the best time ever in a textile suit in March. "It's who can get their hands on the wall first here tonight."

The Aussies took another bitter defeat in the final event of the evening, again to their American rivals as Schmitt chased down Alicia Coutts for gold in the 4x200 freestyle relay.

Schmitt dived in the water about a half-second behind but passed Coutts on their first return lap and won going away in 7 minutes, 42.92 seconds. The Australians settled for another silver in 7:44.41, while France took the bronze.

Like the Aussies, the record book also took quite a beating.

Daniel Gyurta and Rebecca Soni both set world records in the 200 breaststroke. The Hungarian won gold, while Soni set her mark in a semifinal heat, further proof that its still possible to go fast - really fast - even without the now-banned bodysuits. Five records have fallen over the first five days at the Olympic Aquatics Centre, defying those who felt it would take years, maybe even decades, to take down some of the marks set with technological assistance.

Adrian was on top of the world after touching in 47.52, giving the U.S. its first title in swimming's signature event since Matt Biondi at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Canada's Brent Hayden took bronze in 47.80, his country's first medal ever in the furious down-and-back sprint.

"We were in the ready room and we watched it and just went nuts," Lochte said. "We were screaming and everything. That was one of the greatest finishes. We're so happy for him."